Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-07

Wonderful sacrifice you say, but not SO Won
derful az that found IN the Gospel, for we de-
served to die, aye, we were sentenced whom
Christ, not worn out with years, but in the
flush of His youth, said: ''Save that man
from going down to the pit; am the ran
5 a on mS TaEe y
for his heart Let me die that he may live."
| Shall it be told to-day in heaven that not
wthstanding all those wounds, and all that
| blood, and all those tears, and all that agony,
you would not accept Him:
"was 1t for crimes that had done,
| He groaned upon the treeY
| Amazing pity. grace unknown.
And love beyond degree"
There is no woe amid the surroundings of
| that scene that lmpresses me more than that
| of His own mother. You need not point her
| out to me. l can see by the sorrow, the
anguish. the woe, by the upthrown hands.
| That all means mother. "Oh," you say,
''why didn't she go down to the foot of the hill
and sit with her back to the scenep IL was
| too horrible for her to look upon" Do you
| not know when child is in anguish or trouble
| it always makes a heroine OF a mother2 Take
| her away, you say, from the cross. ou can
| not drag her away. She will keep on looking;
| as long as her son breathes she Will stand
| there looking. Oh what a scene 1T was for
| tender hearted mother to look upon! How
| gladly she would have sprung to His
| relief. 1t was her son. Her son! How
gladly she would have clambered up
on the cross and hung there herself If
| her son could have been relieved. How
| strength ening she would have been to Christ
| il she might have come close by Him, and
\ soothed Him! Oh. there was n good deal In
| what tine little sick child sald upon whom
| surgical operation of painful nature must
| be performed The doctor said: THAT child
| won't live through this operation unless you
encourage him. You go in and get his con-
| sent" The father told him all the doctor
| said, and added: "Now. John. Will you go
| through with itP Will You consent to itY he
| looked very pale, and he thought minute and
said Yes, father, if you will hold my hand
WHIP SO the father held his hand
| and led him straight through the peril. oh
woman. in your hour of anguish whom do
| you want with your Mother. Young man.
| in your hour of trouble who do you want to
| console your Mother. If the mother of Jesus
could only nave taken those bleeding feet into
| her lap! If she mlgt have taken the dying
| head on her bosom! If she might have said to
| Him; "It win soon be over, Jesus; it will soon
| be over, and we will meet again and it VIII
| all be we'll" But no, she dared not come up
30 close. They would have struck her back
with their hammers. They would have
| kicked her down the hill.
There can be no alienation at all. Jesus
must suffer and Mary must look. suppose
| she thought of the birth hour in Bethlehem.
| suppose she thought OF the time when with
| her boy in her bosom she hastened on in the
| darkness in the flight toward Egypt. sup
pose she thought Of His bOyhoOd, when He
1 was the joy of her heart. l suppose she
7 thought of the thousand kIndnesses lie had
done her, not forsaking her or forgetting her,
| even in His last moment, but turning to John
| and saying: "There Is mother; take her
with you. She is old now. She cannot help
herself. Do for her just as L would have done
for her If l had lived. Be very tender and
| gentle with her. Behold tiny mother" She
thought it all over, and there is no memory
| like a mothers memory, and there Is no woe
| like mothers woe.
| remark again: This is tender scene be-
| cause IL is Christian reunion. why was IL
| that in the seasonal meeting, when asked
| woman if 1t were her son who sat next to her,
making profession Of his faith, she made no
| answer; put after a moment, trying to con-
troll her emotion, she burst into tears. l said
| within myself, she need not tell me the story.
| 1t is the old story Of a prodigal got back.
| 1.-The dead is alive again, ana the lost is
| found" Oh, how many families there are
| that rejoice together to-day?
These Christians during the rest of the
year, perhaps, will not know much about
| each other. You 20 In one circle of society,
| these 60 in some other circle OF society, ana
| this one travels in that path. and this one the
| other path; but to-day we all come ON one
fession. and we cling to one cross,
| and we gaze upon one death an
| guish. 1t seems to me this morning not like
| o church, but like a great family circle, and
| we join hands around the cross of Christ, and
| we say: zone Lord, one faith, one baptism,
| one cross, one Christ, one doXology, one
| heayenw While Istand here IL seems TO me as
| il this communion table. which is only seven
| or eight feet long and three or four feet wide,
| widens until all the Christians OF our own de-
| nomination can sit at 1t; and still the table
4
| all names and denominations come and sit at
| it; and still the table widens until 1t bridges
| the sea, and Christians on the other side OF
| the Atlantic come and SIT at II; ana stlll that
| table widens until the redeemed OF heaven
| mingle In the communion; Church militant;
| church triumphant.
zone army Of the living God,
/ To His command we bow;
Part of the host have crossed the Hood,
| And part are crossing now"
| ri Ia aha
| scene because IL arouses 80 many precious
memories. We look back and remember the
days of our childhood when, long before we
| knew the meaning OF the bread ana the wine,
| we sat in the side pews on Sacramental days,
| or in the galleries, and looked AS our fathers,
| mothers and older brothers and sisters sat at
| the communion. Or, If we sat with them, We
| pulled at mothers dress and said: what
! does that mean? What IS that In the cup2
I What is that on the platep o, yes; we re-
| member those Sacramental days of our boy
hood. We remember how much more tender
| father was that day than on any
| other day We remember how mother stood,
and without saying one word looked at us,
| and her eyes got full OF tears. Oh. the dear
| old soul! They have gonel But until the day
| OF our death we Will associate this holy ordl-
nance with their memory. And when our
| work on earth is done we Will just go up and
| SIT down beside them in the heavenly church,
| as we used to sit beside them In the earthly
| church, and then we will drink new wine In
| our Fathers kingdom.
| "Behold the saints, beloved OF God
| Washed are tner robes In jesus blood;
| Brighter than angels, 10, they shine;
Their glories splendid and sublime"
remark again: This scene is tender TO day
| because IL is Confessional. You and / re-
| member the time when. II imam had charged
| us with anything like imperfecton or wrong
| doing, we would have thrown ourselves back
| on our honor, and said: "You don't know
who you are talking TO. 1 shall resent such
| an insult TO my honor and integrity" We do
| not feel that way to-day. AS we gaze upon
| the sacrifice OF Christ, and think OF what we
| have been and what we have done, our hearts
| melt within us. We see one dying accursed
| for our sin, and we hear Him in HIS dying
words begging for our service, and yet how
| little service we have rendered. or this
| short life we have begrudged God even frag-
| ment. Alasl Alasl Some of US have lived out
| the most of our days, and yet we have rem
| dered TO God no earnest service. Sad, that
we could have so maltreated Him on whom
! all our hopeb depend. oh, my brethren and
| sisters in Christ, to- day join hands with me
| in u confession before Christi III there be any
| place more humble than another, let us take
| IT, IL there be any prayer more lmportunate
| than another, let US breathe 1t. III there be
| any confession more bitter than another, let
| us now weep IL out.
.'well might the sun in darkness hide
/ And shut his glories In,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died
For man. the creatures SIM"
Once more: This is tender and absorbing
| scene because it Is antlcpative. My brethren,
we are not always going TO stay here. This